A Caregiver's Guide To Symptom Management

Unless you just happen to a medical professional, chances are that you will not have all the knowledge you need to step into the caregiver role with ease. The average caregiver is easily overwhelmed because the work is beyond their comprehension, particularly when managing the symptoms of the patient. There are multiple areas where a little education can go a long way in easing the burden of the caregiver role.

The variety of symptoms you may run across as a caregiver is the most challenging of the role. Is the patient hot or cold? How much pain are they in? When should an ambulance or doctor be called? Being armed with specific care information can boost confidence, especially when the caregiver role is so new. In fact, keeping track of the symptoms as well as interpreting them, making decisions based on those interpretations and knowing when to make changes to the care plan are important. Knowing when to call in a professional or supplemental home health care is also significant.

Symptom Monitoring

As the caregiver, it would be a smart move to keep a journal of events during the course of your patient's care. Logging each time you administer medications is as important as how much medication. When it comes to pain, certain drugs must be taken at a precise time so you must become attuned to your patient. Taking note of your patient's routine like when and what they ate for dinner is important just as jotting down symptoms is too.

A scale of 1 to 10 helps your patient in determining their level of pain and allows you to administer medications accordingly. It is also important to jot down how bad the pain is and at what time of day. The duration of the symptoms and what helps your patient through the pain is important as well. The journal is a smart plan and will help the doctor greatly in further diagnosis and treatment options too.

Open to Interpretation

As the caregiver, it is important to learn how to interpret symptoms. Your deciphering skills will greatly impact the quality of life for your patient. Interpretation leads to evaluation of your patient's overall situation. How well are they handling the pain and should they be in a professional medical facility and can the same care be administered at home … these are a few questions that can be answered during the interpretation of symptoms.

Making decisions based on your interpretation of the patient's symptoms is important and necessary. The journal you keep logging medications, sleep habits, dietary issues and more help in the more global treatment of your patient. Strategies should be created from this journal and your observations.

Engage your patient, if able, as to the care they wish to have and what measures for death and dying they put into place. Knowing their wishes in advance makes your life easier. Depending on their health woes, there may be a strategy mapped out for each individual symptom. Familiarize yourself with those moves as you may have to tweak your loved one's plans a bit.

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